Mark of the Time Lords
by The Hand of Omega
Summary: A little incident reveals a little of the Doctor's past to Jo.


**I have recently developed a great love for the Third Doctor and Jo. Jon Pertwee really enjoyed his time (you can just tell by the way he acts), and Katy Manning was a perfect foil to his Doctor. **

**Now, for a bit of background information. One night, during his time in the Navy, Jon Pertwee went and got himself very drunk. The next morning he woke up with a mysterious tattoo. This said tattoo appeared breifly in 'Spearhead from Space', in the scene where the Doctor is taking a shower. For years, fans have tried to develop a meaning for the darn thing. And thus, this fic is born. **

**I do not own Doctor Who. Which sucks. **

"Are you alright Jo?" the Doctor asked, taking the young woman's hand and pulling helping her up from the gound.

"Yes I think so Doctor," she replied, brushing mud off her pants. She grimmaced in pain as a large cut on her hand rubbed against her leg, smearing blood on it.

"Let me see that," the Doctor said, examining the cut. "I don't think it's serious."

Jo smiled and looked back behind them, where the TARDIS, upon materiliazation, had fallen over and slid down an extremly steep hill. She was lucky to get only a small cut.

"Are you sure we should just leave the TARDIS there?"

The Doctor looked over the incline and sighed. "Yes. Lets just find a town or something and get cleaned up."

Jo nodded, and then noticed his arm. An entire section of his sleeve had been ripped off, revealing a strange tattoo. It was the emblem of a serpant curling around a sword, which was stabbing a planet.

"Doctor, what's that?"

The Doctor adjusted his arm so he could see what she meant. His face fell a little.

"That's just… well… it's unimportant."

"Oh tell me," Jo playfully begged. "Did you go out one night and have a bit too much to drink?"

The Doctor looked at her, and smiled. "I'm afraid it's a bit more serious than that Jo."

"Oh?"

"Yes… it's a Gallifreyen Exile Mark."

Jo's smile vanished. "… oh."

"Yes… it was put there by the Time Lords to remind me that they have, and always will, have power over me."

Jo looked to the ground. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor smiled and tilted her chin up with his hand. "You don't have to be. Curiosity is always a good thing."

She smiled a little, but she stared into his eyes, The kind, gentle, yet dashing and heroic eyes. In them she saw anger, resentment, and… sadness.

"Doctor… why were you exiled?"

His smile faltered. "Well… I disagreed with them."

"And they exiled you?"

"Well, I stole a TARDIS… don't look at me that way, it was practically on a scrap heap… and inerfered with a lot of planets and what not. They don't particularly like it when that happens."

"But why did you run away?"

"Well… I guess you can say I was bored."

"Bored?"

"Yes. Bored of simply watching and not acting, bored of being higher than everyone else, bored of… well you get the idea."

Jo nodded and turned to look at their surroundings. "Do you regret it?"

He turned to her and smiled. "No Jo, I do not."

"But you must miss being free, having all of time and space to…"

"Well of course I do Jo. But at the same time, I find this a way to prove them wrong. Here, I still defeat evil. Here, I still interfere."

Jo smiled and turned back to where they crashed. "And you still try to go against their orders."

He looked back and frowned. "Yes… should have known that the Time Lords put a forcefield around the planet, at least to the TARDIS."

Jo laughed and started to walk ahead. "Come on Doctor, lets find out where we are, and if there's a telephone anywhere."

The Doctor followed her, looking up into the sky. "Yes… hopefully we bounced onto a civilized part of the planet. Or civilized time period."

Jo froze and turned back to him. "You mean, we could have traveled through time, even with the forcefield."

The Doctor smiled. "No. Only joking. Come along, lets find that telephone. The Brigadier is going to have a fit."

**Yes, I took liberties with the tattoo. Thannks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


End file.
